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Today’s gasoline crunch teaches us a lot
about Christian stewardship and
simplicity….
GASOLINE
AND
GOD
by Michael Williams
In recent weeks throughout our nation,
people have been both alarmed and
depressed by the skyrocketing price of
gasoline. Like countless others, I have tried to
eliminate any unnecessary driving, coordinate and combine
errands to avoid backtracking, and even go online
looking for the cheapest possible gas in the Indianapolis
metropolitan area. And I’m sure I have occasionally
complained and grumbled my frustration to anyone
within earshot.
And while the gas crisis is a matter of concern, and
the burden created is real indeed, it is not necessarily
all bad. In fact, it may actually be most beneficial if it
serves to remind us of the importance of two distinct
but related biblical principles. The first of these is stewardship.
The Bible teaches us that this is our Father’s
world, but that He has specifically appointed man as
His steward over nature. As such, one of our responsibilities
is to husband earth’s resources, not wantonly to
waste them or misuse them. We are to consider and
conserve, calculate and control. While Christians
should not go to extremes in overemphasizing this principle,
yet neither should they be oblivious to, nor inactive
in, its application. Can we and should we become
better stewards Undoubtedly.
The second biblical principle brought into sharp
relief by the gas crunch is that of simplicity. A number
of Scriptures, such as I Timothy 6:8, Hebrews 13:5, and
Matthew 6:33, admonish us to the virtue of simplicity.
Ours is an age of opulence and excess. We are given
visual tours of the homes of the rich and famous and
regaled with intriguing accounts of how they live, the
places they vacation, etc. In a materialistically mad
world, we do well to remember that we, as followers of
the lowly Nazarene, who had only disdain for this
world’s goods, do not have always to have the biggest
and the best, the finest and the fastest.
Every area of
our lives should be governed
by modesty and simplicity.
Just because I can does not necessarily mean I should!
There is a real sense—a spiritual sense—in which less
becomes more, and more impoverishes us immeasurably.
John Wesley certainly reflected the dignity of simplicity
when he admonished his people to “earn all you can, save
all you can, and give all you can.” When it comes to an
automobile, it is for some simply a means of transportation;
but to others, it can and does become much more.
Indeed, it easily morphs into a “gas-guzzling god” that
consumes one’s attention, wastes precious time and
money, and elevates carnal pride.
The important thing in all of this is that we not
become distracted by the gasoline crisis or any other
problem, whether it is economic, social, or political.
This is not to say that we should be oblivious to those
that affect our lives, but we should not become obsessed
by them. Our focus needs to remain fixed upon God, on
being His people, and doing His work in this world—
this in spite of what is happening in the world, our
nation, or our neighborhood. To reiterate, the greatest
needs are never economic or political but are moral and
spiritual. Our eyes—and our hearts—need to be
focused primarily and continually on spiritual reality.
So the next time I fill up my tank, I may still wince
or even grumble a little, but I purpose to do a spiritual
“gut-check” in order to be sure that my focus is ultimately
not on the erratic gas prices at the pump but on
the eternal God.
Rev. Dr. Michael R. Williams is a GBS graduate (’66 ThB; ’70 BA) and
former faculty member. He is senior pastor at Union Friends Church,
Westfield, Indiana, and is the newly elected Superintendent of the
Central Yearly Meeting of the Friends Church. Reprinted with permission
from The Friends Evangel.
OCTOBER 2006
09